Gmat

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GMAT sentence correction: start with simple examples
Many people are understandably intimidated by the complexity of the sentences in the sentence correction problems on the GMAT. Most resources teach sentence correction skills using similarly complex examples, which can make it hard to recognize the relatively simple concepts that are being tested on the exam. You wouldn’t study algebra to learn ...
Once upon a combination, er, permutation…?
Counting is hard. At some point or another, virtually every business school aspirant stares down a GMAT quant problem that requires more mileage than what finger-counting can provide.
The 3 most important GMAT math formulas
To solve many of the quantitative questions on the GMAT, it is essential to understand a couple key equations. This article will clearly lay out 3 very important formulas.
How algebra is like a chainsaw: or using common sense on the GMAT
A question I often like to ask my students is, “If you didn’t know how to use a chainsaw, would you play around with it?”Usually the student jokes with me and says of course, but then admits that no, they probably wouldn’t.At least not until they’ve received some training.The reason is obvious: using a tool that you don’t know how to handle is ...
GMAT Sentence Correction
Out of the types of questions asked on the GMAT Verbal section, Sentence Correction questions may strike native English speakers as the easiest. After all, you usually know whether a sentence sounds grammatically correct or not. However, it is for this exact reason that Sentence Correction questions can be among the trickiest to solve if you are ...
GMAT Verbal time and resource management
There are two fundamental rules if you want to do well on the GMAT:
So what’s the deal with the virtual GMAT?
For anyone else like me who’s naturally a planner, you’ve probably found yourself particularly frustrated by all the wrenches thrown at you and your MBA decision processes during the pandemic. You may find yourself asking questions like:
Bloom’s Taxonomy
One of the basic tenets of my coaching philosophy is to teach a student to teach themselves. The vast majority of the learning process should take place solo. Learning the LSAT or the GMAT is more like learning a language than it is like learning a subject, and there is just no way—no matter how long you stick with it—that you’re going to learn ...
GMAT Critical Reasoning questions: know your conclusion
For many people, Critical Reasoning questions are among the toughest verbal questions on the GMAT. The Critical Reasoning arguments on the GMAT can get pretty convoluted! We are presented with a series of statements and assumptions, followed by some conclusion. Then, we are asked to either strengthen the argument, weaken the argument, or consider ...
The power of prime factorization for the GMAT quantitative section
We have all encountered factor trees at some point during grade school. When I first encountered them as a kid, the whole exercise seemed unnecessary and silly. I thought to myself, “Great. I can list all the prime factors of 48. But, to what end?” It was not until much later that I realized the utility of prime factorizations. On an exam like the ...
How to tackle GMAT Sentence Correction questions
Focus on one aspect of the sentence to narrow down your options. Face it. GMAT Sentence Corrections can be a little overwhelming! And, if you are like most people, you might approach a sentence correction by carefully reading through all five responses and picking the answer that “sounds best.” You may even answer many questions correctly using ...
Work/Rate/Time problems on the GMAT
For many people studying for the GMAT, Work/Rate/Time problems prove to be a particularly sore spot on the Quantitative Reasoning section. In this lesson, we will learn an efficient and effective way to tackle these problem types algebraically.
Three Key Lessons from a Lifetime of Test Taking
As someone who’s spent over twenty years in school and is currently pursuing both MD and MPP degrees, I’ve taken my fair share of tests. For as long as I can remember, tests have been both milestones and gatekeepers. The first “high-stakes” tests I took were the SAT and ACT in preparation for college admissions. After many midterms and finals in ...
How to Methodically Crack Tough “Primeness” Questions on the GMAT
Questions that ask you to determine if a number is prime are ubiquitous on the GMAT. You can expect to come across at least a few on exam day, so knowing how to quickly determine a number’s “primeness” will be necessary if you’re looking to break the 700 ceiling.
GMAT tip: look for dangling modifiers!
Trusting your ear can get you far, but knowing some key grammar rules gets you even farther! Many people describe their approach to Sentence Corrections on the GMAT in the following way: they read through all five answer choices and simply choose the answer that sounds the best. Honestly, this is not a bad approach. Many of the wrong answers will ...
The GMAT was designed with you in mind
According to the GMAC, the organization that administers the GMAT, the test is highly correlated to success in business school. Why would this be the case? Obviously, business school is going to involve little if any geometry. Timed meticulous editing of poorly-crafted run-on sentences is unlikely to come up on final exams. Obsessing over data ...
That Fine Line between Pure Algebra and Testing Numbers on the GMAT
Pure Algebra is not the most efficient way to solve every problem!
MBA Admissions: GRE vs GMAT?
Should you take the GMAT or the GRE for MBA applications? First, let’s start with the key difference between the tests:
Grad school standardized testing: to re-test or not to re-test?
So you got your score back from the standardized test you need to apply to graduate school, and you’re not thrilled. What now?
Don’t neglect reading comprehension
Focus on weaknesses, but capitalize on strengths The GMAT has no shortage of intimidating problem types. For many test takers, Data Sufficiency and Critical Reasoning alone are enough to induce heart palpitations. Understandably, many students focus on these very intricate, complicated question types - and rightfully so! It is no easy feat to ...
7 essential tips for ANY standardized test
Whether you’re applying to college, graduate school, law school, medical school, or even some jobs, standardized tests are often part of the process. They can be intimidating, long, arduous, and confusing, but with some practice, you’ll learn how to overcome any test-taking anxiety and stay focused. Here are a few tips and tricks for going into a ...
When should I guess on the GMAT?
If you’re thinking about taking the GMAT and going to business school, chances are you’ve already taken hundreds of written tests throughout your career. Some of them were probably standardized tests like the SAT or ACT, and others might have been in your high school and college classes. Most likely, those tests involved sitting down and answering ...
The Universal Standardized Test Taking Strategy: Know the Policy
This week, one of our Master level tutors shares the most commonly forgotten test taking strategy: know the testing policy. Greg's anecdote sheds light on the responsibility of the student and the tutor to learn the policies of the test, and understand what motivates test policy changes.
The Three Essential Factors that Contribute to GMAT Success
The GMAT: Why Test Strategy Matters Test day is the culmination of your efforts, where you reap the rewards of all the nights and weekends you spent studying. Finally, you can put the GMAT exam behind you and focus on your essays knowing that you have positioned yourself to succeed. Unfortunately for some, everything doesn’t always go as planned, ...
Three GMAT Study Tips from a Master
The GMAT can be a hard test to conquer. One of the main reasons for this is that the GMAT math is probably the most challenging out of all the standardized tests. Lucky for you, the GMAT test writers are nice. They provide students with an abundance of materials. If you don't believe me, go onto the official website and see. There are official ...
Five Key Strategies: GMAT and GRE
Whether you're deciding to take the GMAT or the GRE, or you're merely weeks away from your test day, it is easy to get caught up in the tedious bits of advice that every blog, manual, and friend has to offer. These five key strategies will help ground your long-term testing goals:
A Comprehensive Guide to GMAT Preparation
If you want to ace the GMAT to crown your MBA applications, you'll need to put in some serious time and preparation. In this blog post, read about ways Weike--one of our Master tutors and admissions coaches--prepares her students to slam the exam.
GMAT Tutoring Approaches with Graham, GMAT tutor
Meet Graham Van Schaik! This week we're spotlighting Graham, a member of our GMAT tutor team. Graham graduated from MIT in 2012 with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering. Graham completed multiple internships with boutique investment banking firms, spent a year developing the curriculum of his own Math and Science Camp in his home state ...
GMAT Tutoring Approaches with Greg, Boston-based tutor
Meet Greg, Boston-based GMAT tutor! This week we're spotlighting Boston-based GMAT tutor, Greg, who graduated with an MBA from MIT Sloan. He’s taught the GMAT extensively, as well as academic subjects such as Calculus, Statistics, Economics. He was an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy, and is currently working on a startup.
GMAT Tips to Finally Get Over That Plateau!
Have you reached a plateau? These GMAT tips might be just what you need! You’ve been studying for months and it seemed to be paying off at first. You watched your practice GMAT test scores jump by 50, then 100, then maybe even 150 points, but you’re still short of the score you need to get into your dream MBA program. Now, your projected score has ...
Does the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section really matter?
The short answer? Yes and No. It depends on what types of school you’d like to be admitted to, how much time you have to study for the exam, and what you want to do after business school. That said, the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section is definitely not as important as the Quantitative and Verbal sections of the exam.
What GMAT/GRE Tutors Talk About on Dates
Teachers in love. I had been corresponding with Ty, an architect and math tutor based in Virginia, for a few months before we decided to meet up. Over the week he spent in New York, we had what resembled a single long conversation that digressed into philosophy, artificial intelligence, theory of mind, and, since we are both educators, ...
The GMAT Tutor: The 4 Costliest GMAT Prep Errors
Don’t be the guy in the middle. Be the guy on the right. I have worked as a private GMAT tutor in Boston for years now, and many of my students have asked for the secret path to success on the exam. I tell them it’s like the reverse of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina – All GMAT successes are successful in their own way, but all failures are alike. Below ...
The Best Free GMAT Resources
Free stuff is the best stuff. The GMAT is expensive. Really expensive. The test alone is $250, and GMAT coaching can be more expensive. At Cambridge Coaching, we offer a range of options for our private GMAT tutoring in Boston, NYC, and online, so we can accommodate students on a budget. Our rates are among the lowest in the business, but even so, ...
The GMAT Tutor: Separating Fact from Fiction
Some people who talk about the GMAT have been chugging this stuff. Don’t listen to them. The GMAT, perhaps more than any other standardized test, creates a culture all its own around the test itself. Students hear about other students putting their lives on hold entirely to study, monk-like, for the test, barely eating or sleeping otherwise. There ...
The GMAT Tutor: Beware of Unforced Errors on the Quantitative Section
Trying very hard to avoid those unforced errors. In tennis, an unforced error is defined as a missed shot that a player should have made using only “ordinary effort.” In other words, the player missed an easy shot—probably because he was tense from the game! On the GMAT quantitative section, I define unforced errors any question (simple questions, ...
The GMAT tutor: crucial do’s and don’ts for the big day
So you’ve been preparing for months, and finally, your GMAT test day is rapidly approaching around the corner. You may be (understandably) starting to feel some anxiety creeping in. How will you retain all the strategies you've learned? How do you make sure all of that hard work, sweat, and toil translates to your test? As your trusty GMAT tutor, ...
GMAT Tutor: The First Step is Just Signing Up
After you scale the GMAT-mountain, these cute little mountain goats will be waiting at the top! The holidays are over, so put down that eggnog and start thinking about how to make your 2015 great. That’s right; it’s time for a New Year’s resolution! As a private GMAT tutor in Boston and New York, I have a fitting mantra for those of you ...
How to approach overlapping set problems on the GMAT
Overlapping what? Overlapping sets are, by far, one of the most complicated topics on the GMAT. Any good GMAT coaching regimen should focus on demystifying this topic. But if you put in a little bit of elbow grease and apply a formulaic approach, these seemingly overwhelming questions can score you big points. As a private GMAT tutor in Boston, ...
The GMAT Tutor: Using the Case Method to Crack the GMAT
The GMAT is the key to business school admissions, and the top business schools rely on the Case Study Method of learning. So why shouldn't the Case Study Method be the key to the GMAT?
Business School Admissions: The uphill climb to success on the GMAT
The GMAT, for many test takers, poses a major challenge on the route to business school admissions. If you’re feeling bummed out by your first attempt at a high score on the test and didn't do as well as you hoped (in spite of months of standardized test preparation), remember that the GMAT is hard for most test takers. Why is the GMAT such a ...
GMAT Tutor: Preparing for the Physical Challenges of the GMAT
As a GMAT tutor, I have seen coutnless overeager GMAT studiers often make the mistake of taking test after test without making the most of them. Professional tests and modules are few and far between, and cost considerable money. Consuming this material quickly is neither the most cost-efficient nor smart method of preparing for the test, given ...
GMAT Tutoring & Business School Admissions: The week before the test
The final few days before the GMAT are the most critical for prospective MBA applicants. As a GMAT tutor, I can tell you that far too many students underappreciate the importance of the lead-up to the exam. Given the considerable time and resources spent on preparation, applicants must be willing to finish strong by sacrificing their social lives, ...
GMAT Tutor: Three Simple Steps to GMAT Probability Questions
Probability is one of the trickier subject areas for GMAT students and tutors alike. As hard as it is for GMAT test takers to learn the ins and outs of combinatorics, for example, it is just as hard for tutors to justify precious preparation time focused on such a narrow and complicated subject. On an average GMAT, students will see at most five ...
A GMAT Tutor's Tips: Treat Data Sufficiency First as a Logic Test
First-time GMAT test takers often become intimidated by the 700-800 level Data Sufficiency questions. Often, these MBA hopefuls suffer from a common fallacy for this portion of the GMAT exam. Namely, Data Sufficiency should not be approached as a purely mathematical portion of the exam; much more often, it tests a student’s logical capabilities. ...
Does success on the GMAT predict success in MBA classes?
Most business schools have a core curriculum that is heavily tilted toward quantitative subjects. Nearly all schools require graduating students to be proficient in basic finance, accounting, economics, and statistics, for example. Many MBAs often speculate that a student’s GMAT score is highly correlated with his or her GPA once at business ...
Ready to Do Some Standardized Test Preparation Over the Holidays?
While holidays are certainly a time for most of us to wind down from a busy work or school year and spend time with family and friends, the holidays can also be the best time to complete some standardized test preparation. With the right discipline and schedule, the focused student can find a way to knock out a couple of good hours of test ...
Business School Admissions: A Great GMAT Score Pays Dividends
Most MBA applicants put considerable emphasis on their GMAT preparation in order to get into the best schools. Though the GMAT score is an important aspect of the application, it is just one part of a person’s overall “story” in business school admissions; a great score will not guarantee access to a great school. However, success on the GMAT has ...
Is the Quantitative section most important on the GMAT?
As a longtime GMAT tutor, I can’t exaggerate enough how many times I’ve heard this question. The answer is, of course, the two most commonly used words in a business school classroom: It depends…
GMAT Tutor Tips: How to Approach a GMAT Critical Reasoning Question
Having been a private tutor for many GMAT test takers, I consider Critical Reasoning to be the section of the test that gives students the most trouble. However, I have found that my students improve quickly in this section by following a very simple method. Namely, students should answer Critical Reasoning questions following a three-step ...
Standardized Test Preparation as a Conduit to Enhanced Metacognition
What is metacognition you may say (unless you have been exposed to the growing literature and popularity of this word in recent years)? Metacognition, at its most basic can be described as knowing how you think.
Standardized Test Math Mechanic: Data Sufficiency Prep for the GMAT
How should I prep for GMAT data sufficiency questions? Today's post will focus on data sufficiency questions, which are arguably the most difficult problem type found on the GMAT. Unlike problem solving questions, data sufficiency problems feel unfamiliar and often lead test-takers to make simple mistakes.
The Importance of Taking It Easy: Sitting for a Standardized Test
Lost in the whirlwind of test-taking strategies and practice problems that make up the bulk of test prep is the simple fact that there is an immense psychological component to any test as critical as the SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, or MCAT.
Learning to Love Standardized Tests: Preparing for Test Day
Lost in the whirlwind of test-taking strategies and practice problems that make up the bulk of test prep is the simple fact that there is an immense psychological component to any test as critical as the SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, or MCAT.
Standardized Test Math Mechanic: An Introduction to GMAT Prep
What sort of prep can I start doing for the GMAT? Last week we looked at a problem from the SAT. Today, we’ll introduce the first in a series of problems that you’re likely to see on the GMAT.
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